Resident Evil: Subject 17
by Spencer Whitworth
Summary: William Birkin's secret test subject awakens during the Raccoon City Outbreak, and a dark conspiracy unfolds under the wicked watch of Umbrella Corporation.
1. Diamond in the Rough

**Resident Evil: Subject #17**

**Chapter 1: Diamond in the Rough**

_(Raccoon City, September 20th, 1998. Two days before the Raccoon City incident, and a few weeks after the Arklay Mountains Outbreak (a.k.a. The Mansion Incident). Umbrella Corporation Scientist Dr. William Birkin is dangerously close to finishing his work on the Gene-Virus. This virus is an advanced strain of Umbrella's Progenitor Mutagen. In absolute secrecy, Dr. Birkin conducts experiments on a number of human subjects to allocate data on the newly made "G-Virus". Over two dozen "specimens" were secured from all reaches of Raccoon City, many of them homeless or downtrodden. All of the subjects had also been targeted for another reason; No family record. This fact allowed Birkin to conceal his actions from the public and meddlesome police investigations. Birkin also hid these actions from the rest of Umbrella Corporation's staff and executives, fearing that they would hinder his genius. _

_Among the 24 candidates, Birkin was lamentable at the excessive failure rate of the subjects. Several either mutating or dying during experimentation. However, Birkin had a glimmer of promise in one subject in particular: Subject #17.)_

Dr. Birkin paced feverishly in front of his terminal, staring down the rows of specimens in front of him. One by one he began to recite hastily written notes on his clipboard back to himself. "Subject Nine: Upon introduction of sample G-14, rejected the virus. The body was wildly mutated and the host ceased vitals within ten minutes". Birkin pressed a button labeled "Holding tank #9", causing the sterilized fluid and the corpse of Subject Nine to drain from the containment tank. Almost systematically, Birkin continued the process. " Subject Three: Exposed to sample G-07, exhibited incredible metabolic acceleration. Physical regeneration and infrastructure showed great promise. Musculature increased by great intervals and reaction speeds were off the charts. Unfortunately, the mitochondria levels in the subject's neurological network degraded quickly, causing it to become primal, animalistic, and the only viable solution was to euthanize it". Like before, Birkin had the contents of the subject's holding tank purged. He moved on in this fashion, reciting the causes of his "failures", when only a number of tanks remained; Subjects #22, #5, and #17.

Birkin once again lifted his clipboard and recited aloud, "Subjects #22 and #5 were subjected to sample G-02. They seem to be sharing a near-symbiotic synergy. Their reactions and bodily processes in cohesion with the strain seem to be nearly identical. I've nicknamed these two "The Twins". Subjects still exhibit higher-capacity neurological function, even at the virus' advanced stages. I will continue to examine these two as they continue to evolve". The Doctor finally centered himself in front of Tank #1, housing Subject #17. Birkin clenched his open fist and stared up at the body floating in the clear fluid. He rested his open palm on the glass of the chamber, "And you… You are my most successful specimen. My glimmering hope, my ultimate success, my pariah" he whispered, his quiet words reverberating throughout the dead-silent lab. Dr. Birkin walked back over to his terminal and began inputting commands into the main computer. "I'll be keeping you in cryogenic freezing, should my _superiors _learn of you, I'll be ruined. I'm keeping you in a safe place, secure, my perfect subject. Umbrella's hired dogs are tracking me, I can't lose you" he mumbled to himself.

The containment tank receded into the floor of the laboratory, the loud hiss and cool rush of air emanated from the floor tiles that followed behind, locking into place. The Cryogenic freezing was successful, Subject #17 was safe… For now. Birkin shut the lights off and proceeded through the airlock door, securing it behind him with his company keycard. He trudged down the hallway as paranoid as a megalomaniac. As he turned the corner and headed for the exit to the compound, Birkin heard approaching footsteps from behind him. He turned to face a sight he had not hoped to see, Birkin turned as pale as a ghost as Albert Wesker approached him. Wesker continued until he was toe-to-toe with the doctor, he cracked his neck and looked over Birkin with unfazed and calculating eyes, hidden behind his shadowy sunglasses.

"Ahhh, if it isn't Doctor William Birkin, so good to finally see you again.". Birkin shook mildly as if he felt a ghastly presence in the room with him and Albert. His lips quivered as he finally spoke, "Albert… We really thought you had perished. I was beginning to think the experimental serum had fallen short of expected parameters". Albert's thin expression grew to a smirk as he retorted, " The outbreak at the Arklay Facility was much more than I had expected. However, the serum worked like a dream William. The public believes I am dead. In a way, I really did die, but I am reborn. Our virus has made me more than I could possibly imagine". Birkin looked at Wesker quizzically, "What do you mean _Reborn_? What happened, Albert"? Wesker, with the same cold reply, uttered " The Tyrant B.O.W. struck me down, but the virus took hold in my body, rebuilt me, made me stronger. I feel as if I'm a whole new person, something beyond human".

"Oh and I also had the chance to get reacquainted with our darling girl Lisa Trevor. The little bitch seems as spry as ever, she's the literal embodiment of the G-Virus, I barely managed to get away from her, even WITH my new abilities". Birkin hadn't heard the name Lisa Trevor in years; The original host of the G-Virus, Wesker and Birkin's test subject for well over a decade. She was supposedly killed in 1995, how could she still survive?

Wesker continued, "Her extensive mutation has made her immune to just about every single form of physical battery and damage. Luckily enough, I managed to trap her under a chandelier while I escaped the facility. She may be near invincible, but nothing could survive that self-destruction". Birkin shuddered, if Wesker could stand against the horribly mutated and vicious Lisa Trevor, the virus really _had _remade him.

Wesker stepped closer to Birkin, "Anyhow, what are you doing here so late this evening? Is it something I should know about?" he inquired as Birkin began to back towards the exit. "Finishing up the final touches on the G-strain is all Albert, things are close to being complete". Birkin had slightly choked on those words, yet Wesker seemed delighted to hear Birkin's statement. "Very good William, I look forward to seeing the culmination of all of our hard work." Wesker said in a slight groan as he walked past Birkin. He turned one last time before departing, with a near-wicked smile on his face, "I hope to see you again soon Doctor" he spoke with a neutral and almost cynical tone. With that, Wesker exited the facility and the doors shut behind him.

Birkin steadied his breath, and finally proceeded outside of the compound himself. Wesker was nowhere to be seen, a fact that chilled Birkin to his core. He proceeded to his USS escort team, who were diligently standing guard next to an armored van. When Birkin closed in on them, without a word, they opened the door of the van to him. Birkin crawled into the back of the van as the rest of the USS team climbed in behind him. The van's engine started, and it rolled away from the darkened scene of the Umbrella Research Facility. Birkin's secret was safe, at least for now…


	2. Interloper

**Chapter 2: Interloper**

As the USS van cleared the horizon, a dark figure emerged from the shadows of the facility. Albert Wesker had never left the premises. He dropped down from the rooftop, and landed on the balls of his feet without as much as the slightest noise to draw attention. He swung the compound doors open again and skulked down the hallway to Dr. Birkin's lab. Wesker stared at the airlock door for a brief duration, and then at the control console. The console read the word _LOCKED _across the LED screen above the card scanner, the word flashed in an arrogant and rapid fashion as if it were taunting Wesker. He realized he lacked the appropriate credentials to enter completely discretely, so another method would be necessary to comb for the secrets that the good Doctor was keeping from him. He slid his hand over the panel, the frozen steel not even triggering the slightest feeling of touch in Wesker's fingers. Then, in an instant, and with a meager application of force, he crushed the panel with his bare hands. The LED screen shorted out for a few seconds, the word _OPEN _quickly flickered on the screen before going dark completely, dying out with a final digital chirp.

The airlock door slid open, and Wesker stepped inside slowly. He scanned the surrounding area, the room was pitch black, save for a few flickering monitors and lights from the nearby tanks. He decided it was best if he leave the lights off, detection was simply not an option. Wesker strode over to the panels and began examining the monitors of the main computer. He read over the subject logs of the two specimens in the holding tanks. These were the only forms of documentation left on the computer, Wesker realized that Birkin was hiding more than he let on. "Bastard's done his homework, the logs are clean except for these two" he mumbled to himself. As he backed up, he heard a smack noise, he immediately directed his eyes to the door. However, there was nobody there, not even the noise of the ventilation to justify another's presence. Wesker looked down at his boots, which were now adjacent to a clipboard. He smiled slyly as he picked it up and pulled a miniature flashlight from one of his pockets. "What do we have here?" he said to himself as he began to scan over the chicken-scratch handwriting that Birkin had hastily left behind.

"The Twins eh?" he said as he walked over to the holding tanks. The subjects seemed to hover in the fluid as if they had never been disturbed. Almost as if they were meant to be held in those tanks naturally, in harmonious slumber. "You could prove incredibly useful. You two may not have physically mutated, but your mental abilities seem to have far surpassed any normal human." Wesker said to the holding tanks, as if he thought the subjects would hear him out. He needed to extract them from the confines of the facility, they were far too valuable to leave in the hands of the incapable Dr. Birkin.

Wesker paced back over to the main computer terminal. He removed a small USB device from his pocket and placed it into one of the terminal's many ports. He began to input commands:

-New Hardware Located in Drive K/

-Run Monitorprotocol

-Running . . .

-Monitorprotocol complete.

-Protocol active.

-Runtime: 0hrs,0mins,07secs

-Run Interloper

-Red Queen Bypass system triggered.

-Bypassing User Configuration . . .

-Bypass Successful.

-Welcome Doctor William Birkin

-Please input file command or inquiry

Wesker smiled as the words flashed across the terminal screen. Birkin would never be able to hide anything from him again, at least not on _this_ terminal. He turned his attention back over to the clipboard, every entry checked out and had a viable explanation. Except for one entry, whether Birkin had forgotten to enter it or was concealing it, Wesker didn't know. The missing entry was for G-Virus test subject #17, Wesker began digging through the data of the main terminal, hoping to find anything on the missing subject. After a frantic search, Wesker found nothing, he gritted his teeth together, lifted the clipboard, and launched it as hard as his arms would allow into the wall, shattering it and leaving a sizable indentation.

At that moment, Wesker's entire body seized up. He fell to his knees and slammed his hands into the ground, gripping the floor as if it were the very thing keeping him alive. His vision blurred in a violent and burning crimson red, and he began to growl and shout in pain. Every muscle in Wesker's body blazed like an inferno and began to convulse. He began to feel blood trickle from his lips as the drops hit the floor. Wesker breathed heavily through his teeth, and did all he could to regain his control. It was as if as his body was no longer his own, as if a powerful force had overcome him and put him through a world of unfathomable and unchecked pain, merely for the sake of doing so. If Wesker resisted, the overwhelming force would cause even more harm to his body.

With one final scream that echoed throughout the facility, Wesker's vision returned to normal. He began to rise to his feet, aware that he now had control of his limbs again. Every last square inch of his body pulsated in pain, but the burning torture had subsided. As he finally managed to stand back up, he placed his sunglasses back on his face. He wiped the blood from his face, and examined his hands. "Some form of side affect?" he wondered, as he grabbed the transceiver from his belt and opened communications. He stated sternly into the transceiver, "Agent HUNK, it's Operative Wesker. I need an extraction at a research facility at coordinates 5.9, 91.4".

Wesker walked quickly out of the laboratory, and headed over to the exit doors. In an action of unfit rage, Wesker kicked the doors, sending them flying to the other end of the compound. He dashed away at intense and inhuman speed; Within a few minutes, Wesker was miles away from the compound. He stopped at an expanse overlooking Raccoon City, looked at his hands, which were trembling uncontrollably. Either from rage or fear, both of which Wesker thought he had surpassed. "I must find a way to control this, I won't last much longer otherwise". He said to himself, as he continued towards Raccoon City. There was still a truth to find.


	3. Unfit to Dream

**Chapter 3: Unfit to Dream**

(September 22, 1998. Shortly before Dr. Birkin's death and HUNK's failed retrieval of the virus samples.)

The dead of night simply did not seem dark enough for Birkin. Calamity was setting itself in motion, and Umbrella was hunting him tirelessly. Even as he entered the secret facility for what he believed to be the last time, Birkin knew that Umbrella Security would be on his heels. He ran as quickly as possible back to his laboratory, stopping only to see the obliterated security lock, someone had been here. However, the matter at hand was far more important, so Birkin rushed onward to his main terminal. He began to input commands into the central computer with the utmost haste. "I have to get you away from them , all is lost without your survival!" he barked as he continued to work. After a fair amount of time and work, Subject #17's chamber was raised from cryogenic freezing and stood in front of Birkin, slowly releasing wisps of sub-zero chilled air into the room.

Birkin bolted over to the chamber, foolishly placing his hand on the lock. He screamed as he swung his hand back from the intense pain, the chamber was still frozen shut. He let out a string of swears as he ran over to the closest blunt object he could find, in his haste, he found a pair of calipers and returned to the lock. With a grunt and another string of cursing, he began to swing and strike the calipers against the door lock. Every single blow rang a metallic clashing noise throughout the facility, but there was no time to waste, USS would find Birkin soon. He swung and wailed as much as he was able, and succeeded in damaging the lock, but not opening the chamber. He ran back over to the main terminal and input the order to open the chamber, but the main computer returned the command with a message of its own.

ERROR: OUTSIDE PROTOCOL IN EFFECT, INPUT DENIED.

Birkin slammed his fists down onto the terminal and screamed "What do you mean Outside Protocol! Damn it all! I don't have time for this!". He grabbed a tape recorder from a nearby table and began to speak: "My name is Doctor William Birkin. I fear this will be my last recording. I hope they don't find you, if they do, then my work is meaningless. Subject #17, you are the key to my immortality, and the signal of my salvation. If you are listening to this, I am sorry we did not get to meet in person, as I always had hoped to do. But listen closely #17, and this is imperative, you cannot allow Umbrella to find you. Should they find you, should they find the secrets buried inside you, then my entire body of work is void. You will learn in time what you were meant to do #17, and when that day comes, Umbrella will suffer, and the world will be spared from the coming storm."

Birkin clicked the record button once more, then placed the device next to the holding chamber. As he rose back to his feet, he uttered the words "You will either save us all, or cast us into despair. I pray that you make the right choices, we all hinge on them." With that, Birkin ran back down the hallway of the facility. He sprinted down the numerous halls and corridors and finally returned to the front entrance of the facility. He hugged the wall and peeked outside, only to find out he was right: Umbrella Security had found the facility, he'd have to find another way out. Birkin began to run towards the back entrance, his body pouring cold sweat, and his lungs heaving and burning under duress. He took a stairwell down three flights, and finally reached the back entrance. With a swipe of his keycard he ran inside, and proceeded to a pair of train tracks. These tracks ran for miles and miles underground, and were the original foundation of the hidden facility. Birkin continued his pace down the tunnels, the wall-mounted lighting being his only companion. As soon as he had covered a fair bit of ground, and was sure USS's dogs weren't behind him, he caught his breath.

"I have to obtain the virus samples from the main facility, lest Umbrella gets a hold of them before my government escort arrives..." he wheezed as he continued along the tracks. This was his last chance, a chance to get the virus samples into government hands, so that Umbrella would be dealt a major blow, and his family could be safe at last. "Annette, Sherry, you'll be safe... Even if I don't make it through this..." he whispered to himself as he faded into the endless expanse of shadow and steel.


End file.
